Explosive.



I Trinitrotoluene UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

anonrnn smear, or warm, ENGLAND.-

ExrLosrvE. I

1,280,563. Specification of Letters Patent Patented .Oct. 1, 1918. No Drawing. Application filed August 7, 1917. Serial No. 184,870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it "known that I, ADOLPHE SEGAY, a citizen of the French Republic, residing in Ware, Hertfordshire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Explosives, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in explosives and it relates more particularly to explosives which contain a silicid of an al- Ammonium nitrate 78. 20 8. 00

Calciunrsilicid 13. 80

has a specific gravity when loose of .8.

When compressed in the ordinary manner into a cartridge case, it has a specific gravity of 1.0 and it can be advantageously. compressed so that its specific gravity reaches 1.25 but when compressed beyond this, it does not explode satisfactorily. The fact that an explosive of the kind under consideration cannot be compressed to raise its specific gravity above 1.25 has two disadvantages, (1) that the usual means of increasing the efiiciency of the explosive by compression is not available for this explosive, and (2) that when compressed to a specific gravity of 1.25 the blocks or sticks thus produced are not sufficiently hard to enable them to be readily handled for wrapping: they are also more hygroscopic than would be the case if they were subjected to greater pressure. Moreover, the specific gravity 1.25 is the maximum at which this explosive is able to detonate, and in ordinary practice a specific ravity of 1.15 is the maximum employed or the ammonium nitrate exploelves.

It has been found, however, that if the proportion of the alkaline earth silicid is increased relatively to the oxygen carrier, such as the ammonium nitrate, a more powerful explosive is obtained and the explosive can be advantageously compressed so that it becomes hard enouh to handle easily and is less hygroscopic than that heretofore manufactured.

This invention therefore consists in the provision of an explosive of the kind de scribed, characterized by the proportion of the alkaline earth silicid (for example calcium silicid) being in excess of what would ordinarily be calculated as necessary to ob tain what heretofore has been known as the best proportions corresponding to a complete combustion, e., an explosive containmg such a proportlon of cOIIlbuStible material that the oxygen coming from an oxygen,

carrier such asthe ammoniunrnitrate is in a sufficient quantity to oxidize the silicid. and burn all the carbon existing in the explosive to carbon dioxid and all the hydrogen to .Water. I

It is also necessary to introduce into the composition of the explosive a small quantity of a substance which maybe detonated by itself, to start combustion of the silicid and to enable it to be compressed. As examples of substances which may be employed for-this purpose may the mentioned trinitrotoluene, tetranitro-methylanilin, hexani-- trodi henylamin, nitroglycerin, and tctranitrani in, and the quantitymay vary from i; to 10 0' according to the nature of the material employed and its detonating power.

An ex losive according to the present invention has the following composition Ammonium nitrate 66.0

Tetranitro-methylanilin, or any ex-.

plosive which may be detonated by itself Calcium silicid 27.0

It will be seen that in this formula, the silicid is in considerable excess of what would be ordinarily calculated as necessary for the proper utilization of the oxygen carrier, a. e. the nitrate, and such a mixture is found to 'ive a 10% increase of explosive force, when loose, as compared with explosives of the same class as heretofore manufactured, and, moreover it can be compressed to a s ecific gravity of 1.45 orabove this if desired? At 1.45 the material is sufliciently solid to permit of its being easily handled for wrapping. The higher compression of course alsorenders the explosive less hygroscopic and as it can be easily handled it can be rendered still less liable to absorb moisture by known methods such as dipping it in parafin-wax or otherwise treating it externally. The proportion of calcium silicid can advantageously be carried as high as 27.0% when the tetranitromethylanilin or other explosive which will detmate by itself can 'be reduced: as low as .0%. v

It willbe seen that through being able to compress the explosive, say to 1.45 specific gravity instead of 1.15, a given quantlty of explosive is made to occupy a less space than it would when less compressed and therefore it does not require so much pa er and paraflin wrapping. This means t at some of the nitrate which before was absorbed in consumin the paper and parafiin wrapping is now ree and therefore more SlllCld can be added to usefully coiiperate with this freed amount of nitrate,,but apart from this it is found that if the quantity of silicid is increased-beyond what 1s theoretically expected to be the right amount an explosive of higher power 15 obtained, as already stated.

The most powerful form of the explosive appears to be that in which the proportion of combustible material is such that, once the metal is oxidized, the whole of the carbon is burned to carbon monoxid and halfof the hydrogen to waterl If this proportion is exceeded, a deposit of carbon is found in the products of combustion, and the power of the explosive is decreased.

In an explosive of the kind described in the specification there is present a much larger quantity of combustible substance tlllan in previously known explosives of this c ass. substance in these previously known explosives would bring about the production of too large a quantlty of carbon monoxid, but 7 in an explosive according to the present invention the amount of this as produced is not more than 1s usual wit ordinary ex- So large a quantity of combustible plosives. That the quantity is small is due to two reasons (1) Because as explained above the explosive according to the present invention can be compressed whereby the quantity of paper. and paraflin wrapping is reduced; 11

of combustible material that the oxygen coming from the oxygen-carrier was in sufiipient' quantity to oxidize comp'letel the silicid and burn all the carbon existmg-in the explosive to carbon dioxid and all the Hydrogen to water.

2. An explosive containing approximately 66.0 parts of an oxygen-carrier, 7.0 parts of an explosive which may be detonated, and

27.0 parts of an alkaline-earth silicid.

3. An explosive of thekind described characterized by the proportion of the alkaline earth silicid being so much in excess of what ,Would' ordinarily be calculated as necessary for the proper utilization of the as t e metal isoxidized approximately the whole of the carbon is converted to carbon monoxid and approximately half of the hydrogen to water.

In testimony whereof I. have signed my name to this specification.

ApoLPuw. sEeAY.

oxygen carrier of the explosive that as soon 

